Dayzsha Hayden
10-26-15
Section 13
The Effects of the Holocaust on Art
Second generation survivors are the offspring of the survivors of the Holocaust. Though, these individuals are not directly impacted by the trauma of the Holocaust they are considered to have acquired the scars without the wounds (Albeck 1994). In the graphic novels Maus I and II by Art Speigelman, Art tells the tale of his father Vladek who is a survivor of the Holocaust. Throughout the novels, Art makes references or portrays within the comic how this has affected himself in one way or another. By constructing the panels in a way that shows how one event is connected to or lead to the other: the text demonstrates that Art has experienced some psychological scarring from the Holocaust as a second generation survivor. In a broader statement, the Holocaust has had a psychological and cultural effect on its survivors.
In a television interview titled, “The Holocaust through the Eyes of a Maus” with Art Speigelman: Art states that the purpose of this graphic novel was to recite his father’s story as a survivor of the Holocaust. Art mentions that Maus is about the past and the present intertwining irrevocably and permanently. One of Art’s intentions were to gain a relationship with his father. Through this process of coaching Vladek, trying to collect information about the events that occurred he gained a relationship as interviewer/interviewee. Multiple situations throughout the novels Maus I and Maus II, Art indicates that the Holocaust has been the primary reason why they have this distant relationship. For example, when Arts friends left him when he was a child and he cried to Vladek. His response to him was telling him that, if you lock them together in a room with no food for a week that he would see what friends were (Maus I pg 6). The fact that Vladek is saying this to an 11 year old who tripped on their skates shows a gap in their life experiences. In this graphic novel, Art not only shows what the Holocaust has done to Vladek but in turn, he showed the psychological damage he experienced. In the Prisoner on the Hell Planet Art shows a very dark period in his life after the death of Anja (his mother). Art blamed Hitler for his mother’s death. In the Prisoner on the Hell Planet comic strip art writes in bold letters “HITLER DID IT!” in the panel that would show his mother being found dead after committing suicide.

Art uses Nazi symbols throughout the comic strip and even depicts himself in the striped uniform that the Jews wore during the Holocaust. As a graphic artist Art is able to express himself through his work but imagine on a global scale how many others has been similarly affected.
According to Melissa C and Kahane-Nissenbaum in Exploring Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in the Third Generation Holocaust Survivors: second generation survivors tend to experience survivors’ guilt, stress and anger. In the novel Art displays these symptoms. Such as in the Prisoner on the Hell Planet when he states that, “I felt nauseous… the guilt was overwhelming (Maus I pg 102). Art also shows some of his anger towards his mother and says, “You murdered me. Mommy, and you left me here to take the rap” (pg 103).

In the panel below: Art is lashing out and calling Vladek a murderer after finding out that he burned Anja’s journals.

Art also slipped into depression after the death of Vladek. During these moments in the novel Art would draw himself in his office amongst piles of dead bodies and a guard tower outside of his window, so much like the Holocaust

This was Arts way of showing the audience the affect that this traumatic event has on him, now 40 years later. Though the Holocaust has ended long ago the after math is like a mental genocide, consider how this has effected Jewish family and culture. Art expressed that he sometimes doesn’t feel like a functioning adult (Maus II Pg 43). In the novel Art often expresses through the panels how the Holocaust weighs heavy on his mind. He creates these graphic images that imaginatively places him in the Holocaust. In the article “Holocaust Survivors and Their Children: A Search for the Positive Effects written by Fara Kaplan; Bower (1996) studied 80 Jewish adults born to Holocaust survivors and 20 Jewish adults whose parents had not faced Nazi persecution. All second generation survivors reported experiencing some type of trauma. At some period during their lifetime, 29 percent of the offspring of holocaust survivors experienced symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Art is experiencing these things as a result of what his parents endured in the Holocaust. The Holocaust is indirectly affecting his mental state and his relationship with Vladek. Art struggles to relate to Vladek because they have lead very different lives. In an article titled “The Second Generation, The Effects of the Holocaust on the Children of the Survivors its states: “They carry the burden of trying to understand and to pass on the stories of their parents”. This connects with Maus I and II primarily because in both novels Art sometimes struggles with understanding Vladek or what the Holocaust has made him out to be. Art gets frustrated because of this limitation, and pressures Vladek for answers that he cannot provide.

In this panel Art seems perplexed by his father’s actions. This is one of the instances in which he attempts to understand Vladek but gives up out of frustration (Maus II pg 64). This article elaborates more about how Art seeks to understand these events that has indirectly affected his life. Even though Arts problems become more pronounced as the novels progress, he learns to cope. In these graphic novels Maus I and II written by Art Spiegelman: he recites his father’s story as a survivor of the Holocaust through a series of panels. Art also incorporates what it has been like for him being a second generation survivor. Though he and others that are second generation survivors have not acquired the physical scars of this genocide, they have to live with the psychological aftermath. The memories of the Holocaust and the mental scarring has affected Jewish culture worldwide.

Works Cited
Fara Kaplan., “Holocaust Survivors and Their Children: A Search for Positive Effects” (2014). American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress.
Kahane-Nissenbaum, Melissa C., "EXPLORING INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA IN THIRD GENERATION HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS" (2011). Doctorate in Social Work (DSW) Dissertations. Paper 16.
University of Washington., THE HOLOCAUST THROUGH THE EYES OF A MAUS (Art Spiegelman) (2014, May 2)
Virginia Hamner. AN EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE HOLOCAUST ON SURVIVORS AND THEIR CHILDREN. Georgetown University.
http://faculty.georgetown.edu/bassr/218/projects/hamner/maus.htm#text